Brown Sump Waste

[Delphinus]

I didn't say I recommend leaving the gunk as long as me. I live my life to serve as an warning to others.


In my defense, this was only 1 tank I let it get that bad, and there were a couple complicating factors. I had mangroves growing in it for the longest time so I had sort of gotten used to not doing much to the sump. My other tanks get their sumps cleaned on a far more regular basis but the odd thing is that this one tank happens to be the tank with the least amount of nitrate or phosphate or algae, and generally speaking the squeeky wheels get more oil.. so it just didn't get onto my radar.

Still, three years without a sump cleaning is kind of bad. I guess I'm doing a "Do as I say not as I do!!"

Originally Posted by drydock

Does using your shop vac for your sump leave a distinctive 'sump smell' when you use it for other projects as well? I have always been hesitant you use mine to clean out a tank or sump.

Well, I do rinse it out really well after use but I imagine it probably smells richer than your average shop vac. However, the tanks are the only reason I have it in the first place anyhow, cleaning up spills during water changes or overflows or whatever.

I too would like to know what Johnny Reefer's little device is. I'm guessing a power filter modded to be a vaccuum ... but does it dump the effluent back into the tank or into the sink?